Businesses in the North are in a better position than in the country as a whole

"Households are less affected here, and we have a business sector that is less focused on households," said Petter Alapää, Credit Manager at Norrlandsfonden, when he presented the situation in Norrbotten.

The manufacturing industry in Norrbotten had a better situation a couple of years ago, which has gradually weakened. Order books are small and production volume is expected to decrease. Expectations of profitability have also declined in the responses that form the basis of the confidence indicator.

Capacity utilization is still high, 90 per cent, which is higher than in the country and also in Norrland, except the region Västernorrland. The shortage of labor is not as great as a year ago. Four out of ten manufacturing companies now say that they have a shortage of labor. A year ago it was virtually all of them.

The worst situation is in the construction industry, where companies believe the going will be tough. The number of employees has fallen in a majority of construction companies and they are very pessimistic about the future as housing construction has come to a standstill. However, investment in industry and infrastructure continues.

The situation is brightest in the private service industries, where it is only slightly worse than normal. But profitability has deteriorated in recent years, and there are low expectations for the development of demand in the near future.

Profitability has also deteriorated in the trade sector in Norrbotten. A majority of retailers state that their stocks are too large. But they are somewhat optimistic and believe that sales will increase in the future.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com